Process for the preservation of feathers.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD WOLFFENVSTEIN, or BERLIN, GERMANY.

PROCESS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF FEATHERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 26, 1905.

Application filed un 'l, 1903. Serial n. 159,717.

STEIN, a subject of the German Emperor, re-' siding in Berlin, Prussia, Germany, (whose post-oflice address is 14: Landgrafenstrasse,

Berlin, Germany,) have invented acertain new and useful Process for the Preservation of Feathers, (for which I have applied for a patent in Germany on the 7th of March, 1903,) of which the following is a specification.

Ostrich and other ornamental birds feathers have the defect that they deteriorate in the course of time, inasmuch as feathers which originally were erect and beautifully curled. gradually collapse during use or wear, lose their curl, and become unsightly and dull. This, collapse of the feather is caused by the fact that the fine twigs or filaments of the individual feathers gradually. absorb moisture from the atmosphere, thereby increasing in weight, and lay themselves against the natural point of supportthat is to say, the quill of the feather-in consequence of which the feather assumes a thinner and somewhat crumpled appearance.

The present invention has for its object to avoid the frequent necessity for redressing, restoring, or renovating the feathers, whereby their life is shortened and the wearing of such feathers is rendered expensivein other condition. For this purpose the feathers are treated with a watersrepellent substancethat is to say, a substance which will not take up moisture, such as waxin a suitable solution.

I prefer to use as a vehicle for the waterrepellent substance a volatile solvent which will not injure the feather and subsequently to remove the solvent by gentle heating,'so as to leave on the feather a thin coating of the water-repellent substance, which is preferably a colorless organic substance soluble in alco hol.

For this purpose the ostrich or other feathers to be preserved are dipped into a one-per-cent. solution of wax in methyl alcohol either before or after the curling of the feathers, and the methyl alcohol used as a solvent. is subsequently evaporated. The further treatment of the feathers is the same as usual.

It is not new to render the surface of woven fabrics waterproof or water-repellent by eoating them with a solution of shellac, parafiin, or india-rubberabut for the treatment of ostrichfeathers such waterproofing compositions are not suitable, because they cause the fine filaments or twigs to stick together and destory the fine voluminous'appearance and the brilliancy of the feathers. They fail to maintain the curly appearance of the feathers, which is the principal object of my new invention.

What I claim is K 1. The process for preserving ornamental birds feathers,which consists in dipping them into an alcoholic solution of wax and then driving off the solvent, substantially as described and for the purpose specified.

2. The process for preserving ornamental 

